Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Lord Mitchell Excerpts

Thursday 8th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mitchell (Lab)]

My Lords, five weeks ago I was at Kibbutz Kfar Aza on the Israel-Gaza border. Hamas had ransacked the place. It did not take much to imagine the carnage and depravity that took place. I then turned to my left and faced Gaza, no more than a mile away. There were explosions. It also did not take much to imagine the thousands of innocent Palestinians who were dying and whose lives were being wrecked. But it was Hamas that spent billions building subterranean fortresses when it could have built thriving communities. It was Hamas that located military command centres under hospitals and schools; and now it is Hamas that is commandeering the distribution of food and water to the Gazan people.

Palestine: Recognition

Lord Mitchell Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mitchell (Lab)]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Steel, on securing this debate. It is not like me to quote from Hamas’s Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, dated 1988, but I think it is highly relevant to this debate. After all, Hamas is an important and influential part of Palestine. So I will start with Article 11, which states:

“The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up”.

Article 13 says:

“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavours. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with”.

Finally, the highly relevant Article 22 says:

“For a long time, the enemies—”

by enemies, I think it means the Jewish people—

“have been planning skilfully and with precision, for the achievement of what they have attained. With their money, they took control of the world media, news agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations, and others. They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard and hear about, here and there. They were behind World War I, when they were able to destroy the Islamic Caliphate, making financial gains and controlling resources. They obtained the Balfour Declaration, formed the League of Nations through which they could rule the world. They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains by trading in armaments, and paved the way for the establishment of their state. It was they who instigated the replacement of the League of Nations with the United Nations and the Security Council to enable them to rule the world through them. There is no war going on anywhere, without them having their finger in it”.

That leaves not much room for doubt as to exactly where Hamas stands and how it views negotiation. And do the words not sound familiar?

Israel has initiated its fair share of unilateral withdrawals, all of which have come back to bite it hard. In 2000, it unilaterally withdrew from all of south Lebanon. Today, this land is run by Hezbollah, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from all of Gaza. In less than a year, Fatah was overthrown and Hamas took over. We know the outcome of that move.

Were Israel to unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank, the results are entirely predictable. In just a heartbeat, Hamas would overthrow the PA, just like it did in Gaza, and just as its charter commands. Even more rockets would be targeted at Israel and even more tunnels would be built. This time they would be just a few miles from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. For Israel, this would be suicide and it is simply not going to happen. Why would it contemplate another flawed withdrawal?

Ever since 1967 I have supported a two-state solution. Even then, at the tender age of 24, I can remember saying that there is no such thing as a benign occupation. I abhor the settlements and I think that the current Israeli Government are totally wrong in their approach to the Palestinians. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi—who is a friend—that I campaign against the settlements. But I have to say that resolutions to unilaterally back the creation of a Palestinian state are not the answer.

What is the answer is negotiation between the parties for a just and durable peace. Three times Israel has offered a peace settlement based on 1967 borders, and three times the Palestinians have rejected it outright. Yet no matter how difficult or frustrating it may be, negotiation is still the only game in town.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Lord Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, I dare say that that is a question which will come up if and when we next move on to a company law reform Bill.

[Lord Mitchell]

My Lords, small companies in particular depend on prompt cash flow—indeed, it is their lifeblood. However, it is still true that many organisations in different areas, but particularly those in the public sector, are notorious for paying late. Despite the assurances that the Minister has given, I ask the Government to issue a firm directive to all organisations in the public sector stating that payments to SMEs are to be made within a short time after the receipt of an invoice.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, the Government have done that and are introducing a number of practices to ensure that that is done. The mystery shopper and other efforts are always feeding back to ensure that where it is not yet done, steps are taken to improve matters.

Anti-Semitism

Lord Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2011 Grand Committee

[Lord Mitchell]

My Lords, this is the first time that I have used this technology, so it had better work.

I have never been described as a rose before and I quite like it, actually.

The inclusion of this debate today is very timely, and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, for introducing it this evening. I have the privilege of being the chair of the Coexistence Trust, whose principal remit is to engage with Jewish and Muslim students on UK campuses, with a view to lessening the undoubted tensions that exist between the two student communities.

I thank my noble friend Lord Janner, who founded the trust and whom I succeeded three years ago. He is our co-president; the other co-president is His Royal Highness Prince Hassan of Jordan, whom I must also thank.

Right from the beginning, it has been important to our trust that we strike a balance between Jewish and Muslim participants. Our employees are both Jewish and Muslim and so too are our donors and trustees. In particular, I am pleased to say that the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, who will speak later, is one of our trustees. I must also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, who has been hugely supportive of everything that we have done since our early days.

There can be little doubt that our university campuses have allowed many forms of extremism to take hold. This week’s announcement by the Home Secretary on the successor to the Prevent agenda bears witness to the seriousness that this Government attach to the problem. The fact that international terrorists with murderous intent have been students at our own British universities is chilling. At the Coexistence Trust, we seek to bring Jewish and Muslim students together. Social engagement is the best way to dispel preconceived views. In January, we launched our campus ambassadors programme. These are students, one Muslim and the other Jewish, from both communities who operate at each of 12 pilot campuses. Their job is to engage students from both communities and encourage them to begin dialogues and work on joint programmes. For example, we look at issues that are common to both communities, including mutual threats. We discuss the BNP, which sees Jews and Muslims in much the same light as does the English Defence League. Most of all, we seek to encourage students to realise that we are none of us all that different from one another and have much to learn from each other. Islamophobia and anti-Semitism exist on campus; they emanate from certain students and certain faculties which are neither Jewish nor Muslim. But, sadly, they come, respectively, from Jews towards Muslims and Muslims towards Jews.

Fortunately, during the three years that I have been chair of the Coexistence Trust, I have noticed an improvement on campuses. For example, in the immediate Gaza aftermath, we were encouraged not to be present at the universities of Manchester and Nottingham. It was judged that the situation was too inflammatory and that we would only worsen it. Today, I am pleased to say, we are welcomed and work closely with them. Manchester in particular has issued a powerful code of conduct instructing administrators and faculty how to deal with the conflict. The issue is clear: universities are places to learn and experience new thoughts and ideas. Free speech is an integral part of our national life, and students must expect to hear views and opinions that may make them uncomfortable. Equally, universities have a duty of care to their students and they, too, must abide by the laws that this Parliament has passed to protect everyone from hate, speech and racism.

I should like to quote from the all-party report:

“The Government expects universities to have measures in place to ensure that their students are not subject to threatening or abusive behaviour”.

Recently, two Jewish protesters went to SOAS to protest against Israeli Apartheid Week, where they were set upon. One of them was bitten on the cheek and was told that the best thing that the Jews had ever done was to go into the gas chambers. This behaviour is simply unacceptable and the universities need to be much more robust in preventing its repetition.

Why cannot universities take a look at the calendar of religious holidays for some of the minority religions and try to avoid having exams on those days? As has been said, this very day is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. It is a prime example. Here we are, smack in the middle of the school and university exam period, and there are students who are precluded from taking their exams or have to take them on different days.

One of the rules that we have at the Coexistence Trust is to avoid discussing the Middle East. The reasoning is simple: we cannot change the conflicts, but we can change how we interrelate in this country. But I must address one aspect of this conflict that does affect us in this country. What gets to many Jews is the way in which Israel is singled out in the media and by those in power. Clearly, it is both wrong and illegal to attack Jews for being Jews, but somehow it seems perfectly acceptable to attack the only Jewish state simply because it is Jewish. I must confess that I am no great lover of the current Israeli Government and am highly critical of their behaviour. Criticising them is totally legitimate, but how about some of Israel’s neighbours? Let us take Syria as an example of how double standards apply. Even as we speak, a massacre is in the making. A thousand Syrians have already been murdered by Assad and his henchmen. Very shortly and very sadly, more will be slaughtered in cold blood. It is simply awful. Where are the demonstrations in London? Where are the protests outside the Syrian embassy? Where are the Socialist Workers Party and all the other protestors who turned out in such force against Israel at the time of Gaza? There is a not a word on Syria, on Libya or Iran, but when Israel overstretches the mark, everyone goes nuts. Many Jews think, and with good reason, that anti-Israeli invective is often anti-Semitism masquerading under a different name. The fact is that to criticise Israel is not anti-Semitic, but to single out Israel simply because it is a Jewish state surely is.